QUARTERBACK.
Lions: Matthew Stafford.
49ers: Jimmy Garoppolo.
Analysis: In Week 1, Stafford threw four interceptions in perhaps the worst game of his career, and Garoppolo threw three picks. Both should bounce back. Garoppolo makes his third start in front of the home crowd, where he went 52-for-73 with 623 yards passing and 2-0 last year.
Edge: Lions, slightly. Brace Hemmelgarn, Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sport

RUNNING BACK.
Lions: Kerryon Johnson, LeGarrette Blount, Theo Riddick.
49ers: Matt Breida, Alfred Morris.
Analysis: Johnson is the most talented of this group, but barely was involved in the opener despite flashing his potential with a nice run early and a one-handed grab. Breida, a second-year back, is undersized but slippery.
Edge: Lions, slightly. Junfu Han, Detroit Free Press

RECEIVER.
Lions: Golden Tate, Marvin Jones, Kenny Golladay.
49ers: Pierre Garcon, Marquise Goodwin.
Analysis: With the continued emergence of Golladay, Lions have one of the best trios in football. The second-year man was one of the few bright spots in the atrocious Week 1 opener, hauling in seven passes for 114 yards. Garcon is the possession wideout, with Goodwin providing speed. Goodwin is questionable for this game with a thigh injury.
Edge: Lions, moderately. Junfu Han, Detroit Free Press

TIGHT END.
Lions: Luke Willson.
49ers: George Kittle.
Analysis: Kittle has quickly become Garoppolo's favorite target. The 2017 fifth-round pick from Iowa had 90 yards on five catches in Week 1 after a nice rookie year. The Lions have one of the worst tight end groups in the league.
Edge: 49ers, heavily. The Associated Press

OFFENSIVE LINE.
Lions: Taylor Decker, Rick Wagner.
49ers: Joe Staley, Laken Tomlinson, Mike McGlinchey.
Analysis: Tomlinson, the former first-round pick of the Lions, improved last season, McGlinchey was the ninth overall pick in the 2018 draft and Staley has been a mainstay since 2007. The Lions didn't allow a sack and four QB hits isn't terrible, but they did nothing in the run game. Right guard T.J. Lang (back) is out.
Edge: Even. Troy Taormina, USA TODAY Sports

DEFENSIVE LINE.
Lions: Ziggy Ansah.
49ers: Solomon Thomas, DeForest Buckner.
Analysis: San Francisco has used three first-round picks on the line since 2015, and it's starting to show. Buckner, now in Year 3, is one of the best interior pass rushers in the league, and Thomas was the No. 3 overall pick in 2017. Ansah (shoulder) has been limited in practice, but without him, this line goes from bad to perhaps league-worst. Detroit was gashed for 169 rushing yards in the opener.
Edge: 49ers, moderately. The Associated Press

SECONDARY.
Lions: Darius Slay, Glover Quin, Quandre Diggs.
49ers: Richard Sherman, Ahkello Witherspoon, Jaquiski Tartt.
Analysis: Slay is one of the best corners, but the Niners' tandem of Sherman and Witherspoon, who was good as a rookie, is the better pairing. Diggs starts at safety, but plays in the slot often, giving the Lions versatility on the back end.
Edge: Even. Gregory Shamus, Getty Images

SPECIAL TEAMS:
Lions: Matt Prater, Sam Martin, Jamal Agnew.
49ers: Robbie Gould, Bradley Pinion, Trent Taylor.
Analysis: The Lions were horrific across the board on special teams in the opener, with Prater missing two field goals and the punt team giving up two big returns, including a TD. We would have given the Lions the edge, but after that implosion, forget it.
Edge: Even. Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press

COACHING.
Lions: Matt Patricia, Year 1.
49ers: Kyle Shanahan, Year 2.
Analysis: Patricia had statisically the worst debut of a Lions head coach in the Super Bowl era, and that's saying something. It was one of the most embarrassing performances you'll see: at home on Monday Night Football against a 21-year-old rookie QB and five-win Jets team. Shanahan is one of the game's most respected offensive minds, and is 5-1 with Jimmy G as his QB. Patricia's teams have given up 89 points in its past two games.
Edge: 49ers, slightly. The Associated Press

Not here, here, in Santa Clara, Calif, where the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers meet in a battle of 0-1 teams Sunday at Levi’s Stadium.

But here, at a crossroads in the Lions season.

Ten months ago, the Lions had a chance to claw their way into the playoffs and maybe save Jim Caldwell’s job. But they lost back-to-back games to the Minnesota Vikings on Thanksgiving and Baltimore Ravens in early December, effectively ending the 2017 season.

That led us here.

Caldwell was fired the day after the season ended. Matt Patricia was hired a month later. And after seven months of building a foundation for what they hope will be a championship program, Patricia and the Lions — amazingly — are at what appears to be a critical juncture in their season.

The Lions got molly-whopped by the New York Jets last week in the most disheartening way possible. Matthew Stafford threw four interceptions. The Lions allowed 48 points. Some questioned their effort. And the drumbeat about an unhappy locker room frustrated with Patricia’s overbearing ways grew louder.

Which brings us back to here, a Week 2 game that feels much more important than your typical Sunday in September. A difficult schedule awaits — the New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers are next up before the bye — and the longer this team goes without a victory, the more difficult the buy-in becomes.

“I would definitely say it’s been definitely different, something that I haven’t been accustomed to,” wide receiver Golden Tate said. “And you can feel this. You’re here every day and you’ve had some interaction with Matty P, you’ve also had some interaction with Coach Caldwell. They’re just two completely different people, two completely different styles of coaching and what they believe and how they coach seem to be different.”

Patricia spent 14 seasons with the New England Patriots, the only NFL team he worked for before coming to the Lions, and was raised as a coach under Bill Belichick, so it’s not surprising that his coaching style mimics Belichick’s in many ways.

Where Caldwell was stoic in his sideline demeanor and very much a CEO who delegated responsibilities to his assistants, Patricia is much louder and more colorful with his words and more hands-on as a coach.

Under Caldwell, the Lions kept a ping-pong table and cornhole set in the middle of the locker room, devices designed to let players take a break from the grind of football while still staying in a work environment.

Those toys are gone under Patricia, and long days at the facility are devoted entirely to business with time spent in meeting rooms watching film, recovery rooms taking care of your body or out on the field for long practices.

“We work extremely hard when we’re on the field and in camp, days are very, very long,” Tate said. “Physically they’re draining, mentally they’re draining as well. I’d say that would probably be the, for me the biggest thing. But then again, I don’t know if it’s just something that happens as I grow older in this league or what it is.”

Tate and others insist that any tension in the locker room is “tension ’cause we want to win and we want to fix this crap, and I think we’re all not happy with our performance last week,” not anything coaching related.

Lions linebacker Eli Harold watches a play in the second half against the Jets.(Photo: Joe Robbins, Getty Images)

But it doesn’t take a psychologist to know Patricia’s ways aren’t for everyone.

“There’s a lot of guys in here,” safety Glover Quin said. “There’s always going to be guys that are unhappy, there’s going to be guys that are happy. Like I said, when you lose, a lot of stuff comes out. When you win, nothing comes out. It’s just the nature of the beast, and our job, like I said, is to keep the locker room working, keep the focus on the San Francisco 49ers and try to get a win.”

Several Lions players parroted Patricia’s message to them after Monday’s loss to the Jets, saying they had to look in the mirror about what they did wrong and not blame anyone else for the defeat. Patricia said he’s implemented some “great ideas” that his players have had, though he declined to share any specifics. And quarterback Matthew Stafford insisted he welcomes Patricia’s demanding style as a coach.

“I appreciate it,” Stafford said. “I understand that we’re doing everything we can to try and win. And you can’t let any kind of message get lost in the delivery of anything. And that was the same way with previous coaches that I’ve had, one side or the other. So it’s not something I’m too concerned with to tell you the truth. Just trying to go out there and play better.”

The NFL is full of examples of heavy-handed coaches who’ve both failed and succeeded because of their ways. Patricia’s former colleague in New England, Josh McDaniels, was run out as Denver Broncos head coach in less than two seasons because players couldn’t stand to play for him. Jacksonville underwent a similar transition under Doug Marrone last year that led to the Jaguars reaching the AFC championship game. And Patricia’s former boss, the brilliant Belichick, saw the bad in a brief stint with the Cleveland Browns back in the 1990s and the good with the dynasty he’s built with the Patriots.

Patricia declined to discuss the Lions’ locker-room culture on Friday, saying “I’m onto San Francisco here” – another Belichick maxim – “I’m not addressing any rumors or gossip. I’m not into that stuff, I’m into football.”

And truthfully, football is what ultimately will decide whether Patricia’s approach is the right one or not.

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There were surprises, let downs and everything in between in the first week of the NFL season. Locally, the Lions had an embarrassing showing on Monday Night Football and plummeted in Dave Birkett's power rankings. Where are the Lions? And who's No. 1? Junfu Han, Detroit Free Press

If the Lions can fix all or most of those problems and get a road win Sunday against the 49ers, all will seem right with the world again (or headed in that direction, at least). If their issues linger and one loss turns into two, or worse, five, this week may go down as the one that did the Lions in.

“As far as I’m concerned is that we’re starting our season this week,” Tate said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t get it done last week. We probably didn’t give our fan base much to cheer about, but we’re refocused, looking in the mirror, working even harder and excited to go back on the field, to get back on the road against another good opponent and just fix this. We come back to Detroit 1-1, it doesn’t matter what we did in Week 1.”